A spectacular stretch of Northern California coast is being protected from future development, and the state and nation are better for it.

President Obama used his executive power under the 1996 Antiquities Act to expand the California Coastal National Monument — a series of small rock islands and formations off the coast — to include an area of about 1,600 acres in Mendocino County known as the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands. It’s a move the editorial board supports and one that is widely supported locally.

In California, where much of the coast land is dominated by massive beach houses and access can be tough, this marks a small victory.

The pristine coastline north of San Francisco gives visitors a stunning view of the continent’s edge: rock formations, blow holes and ever-moving marine life. This not only preserves a slice of precious land for generations, but it provides a boost for the local tourist economy. There are few actions that a president can take that will protect a single location for this long.

And for Californians, it means that at least along that slice of state coast land, generations will be able to breathe in the salty ocean air and take in the untouched land around them.